spiracle

spir·a·cle
S1P3I1R1A1C3L1E1
/ˈspɪɹəkəl/US/ˈspirək(ə)l/

noun

A pore or opening used (especially by arthropods and some fish) for respiration.

OriginLatin spiraculum →
Scrabble 12
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounspiracle (plural spiracles)

plural spiracles

  1. A pore or opening used (especially by arthropods and some fish) for respiration.
  2. The blowhole of a whale, dolphin or other similar species.
  3. Any small aperture or vent for air or other fluid.

Origin

  1. Latinspiraculum
  2. Englishspiracle

From Latin spiraculum, from spirare (“to breathe”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek φυσητήρ, φυσητήρ
  • φυσητήρ (phusētḗr)blowhole
  • φυσητήρ (phusētḗr)small aperture or vent
Bulgarian дихателен отвор, отдушник
  • дихателен отвор (dihatelen otvor)opening used for breathing
  • отдушник (otdušnik)small aperture or vent
Catalan espiracle, espiracle
  • espiracleopening used for breathing
  • espiracleblowhole
Esperanto stigmo, kelluko
  • stigmoopening used for breathing
  • kellukosmall aperture or vent
Finnish hengitysaukko, ilmareikä
  • hengitysaukkoopening used for breathing
  • ilmareikäblowhole
  • ilmareikäsmall aperture or vent
French spiracle, soupirail
  • spiracleopening used for breathing
  • soupirailsmall aperture or vent
German Atemloch, Spritzloch
  • Atemlochopening used for breathing
  • Spritzlochopening used for breathing
  • Sauglochopening used for breathing
  • Atemlochblowhole
  • Kellerfenstersmall aperture or vent
Greek φυσητήρας, φυσητήρας
  • φυσητήρας (fysitíras)blowhole
  • φυσητήρας (fysitíras)small aperture or vent
Hungarian légzőnyilás
  • légzőnyilásopening used for breathing
Icelandic andop, loftæðaop
  • andopopening used for breathing
  • loftæðaopopening used for breathing
  • blástursholablowhole
  • blástursopblowhole
Italian spiracolo, spiraglio
  • spiracoloopening used for breathing
  • spiragliosmall aperture or vent
Māori tāpihapiha, pihapiha
  • tāpihapihablowhole
  • pihapihablowhole
  • pihablowhole
Polish przetchlinka, tryskawka
  • przetchlinkaopening used for breathing
  • tryskawkaopening used for breathing
Portuguese espiráculo
  • espiráculoopening used for breathing
Russian брызгальце, ды́хало
  • брызгальце (bryzgalʹce)opening used for breathing
  • ды́хало (dýxalo)blowhole
Spanish espiráculo
  • espiráculoopening used for breathing
Vietnamese lỗ thở
  • lỗ thởopening used for breathing

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

caliperscarspiel
Cite this entry
APA

spiracle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spiracle

MLA

“spiracle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spiracle. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spiracle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spiracle.

Source: spiracle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.